DAVOS: The threat of a US attack on Iran is very serious and would risk spreading sectarian violence throughout the Middle East, Arab League Secretary General Amr Moussa said on Wednesday. It s a 50/50 proposition, and we hope that it won t happen. Attacking Iran would be counterproductive, Moussa said at the World Economic …

CAIRO: Two organizations are calling on the Minister of Justice Mamdouh Marei to arbitrate in the case of Abdel Kareem Nabil Soliman Amer, the blogger who has been under arrest since November on charges of defaming the president. Reporters Without Borders and the Arabic Network for Human Rights Information wrote to the justice minister urging …

BEIRUT: The chic shops and eateries of Downtown Beirut have fallen eerily silent as opposition parties, led by Hezbollah and the party of Christian General Michel Aoun, have erected a sprawling tent city across the heart of this seaside capital. The protestors demand the resignation of Prime Minister Fouad Seniora and the creation of a …

Experts think kidnapping might be related to Egyptian support in Iraq CAIRO: A worker for the Egyptian embassy in Baghdad disappeared on Monday the Foreign Ministry said. Foreign Ministry Press Spokesman Alaa Al Hadidi issued a statement announcing the disappearance of the embassy employee, adding that Egyptian security officials were in contact with their Iraqi …

CAIRO: Egypt s jailed opposition leader Ayman Nour was found not guilty on Tuesday of physically assaulting a voter during the September 2005 presidential elections, his wife and security sources said. The Bab Al-Sharia criminal court acquitted Nour – who came in a distant second in the 2005 presidential elections – because of the lack …

LONDON: The image of the United States has deteriorated around the world in the past year because of issues such as Iraq and prisoners at Guantanamo Bay, according to a poll by the BBC World Service released on Tuesday. The proportion of people believing the United States has a mainly positive influence in world affairs …

Reuters BEIRUT: Thousands of Shia Muslim and Christian protesters blocked roads in Lebanon with blazing tires on Tuesday in a campaign to oust the government, and at least a dozen people were wounded in gunfire between rival factions. At least 48 people were hurt in scuffles, especially in Beirut and Christian areas, security sources said. …

CAIRO: A teenager has hanged himself in Alexandria in an apparent imitation of last month s execution of ousted Iraqi President Saddam Hussein, a security source said Saturday. Abdullah Farag, 15, put a hood over his own head before hanging himself with a cord from one of the windows in his room on Friday, the …

Reuters NEW YORK: The former head of the UN oil-for-food program for Iraq and a brother-in-law of an ex-UN Secretary General were charged with bribery and conspiracy to commit wire fraud tied to the program. Benon Sevan, 69, the first UN official to be charged with wrongdoing under the program, and Ephraim Nadler, 79, a …

Associated Press Cairo: At least 78 people were killed and more than 150 wounded Monday after two nearly simultaneous bombs struck a predominantly Shia commercial area in central Baghdad in the deadliest attack in two months, officials said. The US military reported the deaths of two Marines, raising the two-day death toll to 27 in …

CAIRO: Libya will host a summit today comprising Egypt, Sudan, Algeria and Tunisia to discuss the situation in Sudan and the Middle East. President Hosni Mubarak told the Mena news agency “I am going to participate in the limited summit of five heads of states. Mubarak added that the summit was a Libyan initiative by …

Associated Press CAIRO: President Hosni Mubarak and Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf held talks Monday on the presence of Arab fighters on the Afghanistan-Pakistan border and on a role for Muslim nations in supporting the Israeli-Arab peace process. They also discussed the situation in Iraq during their meeting in Sharm el-Sheik. The meeting came just after …

Arabs using nuclear race to pressure US on Iran, analysts say Cairo: The pursuit of peaceful applications of nuclear power is now figuring high on the national agendas of several Arab governments since Gamal Mubarak, deputy chairman of the National Democratic Party (NDP), announced in September that Egypt’s strategic energy needs could be met with …

Associated Press ATHENS, Georgia: Former President Jimmy Carter told a town hall meeting of how he saved the 1978 Camp David peace talks that became the crowning achievement of his presidency. Taking his audience behind the scenes of the talks, Carter became emotional, twice choking back tears, as he recalled his efforts to save the …

Musharraf contacts Iran prior to Middle East visit Cairo: Terrorism will top the agenda during Pakistani President General Pervez Musharraf’s visit to Egypt, analysts believe. “Musharraf’s greatest concern in common with Egypt is terrorism. Talks will probably center on Egyptian militants in Pakistan . that will top the agenda, Diaa Rashwan, expert at Al Ahram …

CAIRO: EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana met President Hosni Mubarak on Thursday, at the start of his Middle East tour meant to revive the drive for peace in the region. Before leaving Brussels on Wednesday, Solana said that the time was right for a new push for peace between the Israelis and Palestinians. After …

CAIRO: The leaders of five Arab countries will hold a summit in Libya next week, President Hosni Mubarak was quoted on Friday as saying. The leaders, from Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Sudan and Tunisia, will talk about Arab and African issues, the state news agency MENA said, quoting an interview with Mubarak to be published in …

CAIRO: Surrounded by a field of state security and curious locals, Kefaya activists held a demonstration outside Sayeda Zeinab mosque, marking the 30th anniversary of the 1977 Bread Intifada, which erupted in protest of the exponential price increases of basic commodities, such as bread and vegetables. Everything is expensive these days. People don’t find anything …

SHARM EL-SHEIKH: Two Egyptian workers lost limbs Friday when an anti-personnel mine left over from one of the Israeli-Arab wars exploded in the Sinai peninsula, police said. Adel Mohammed Abdul Aal, 31, lost a leg while Abu Bakr Ahmed, 35, lost an arm in the accident at Al-Nabq near the Red Sea resort of Sharm …

CAIRO: Despite the disapproval of the Muslim Brotherhood (MB) block in parliament, as well as that of a number of opposition and independent MPs, the PA gave its preliminary green light to constitutional amendments suggested by President Hosni Mubarak late last year. The Middle East News Agency (MENA) reported that Parliament Speaker Fathi Sorour announced …

CAIRO: The banned-but tolerated Muslim Brotherhood (MB) group seeks to promote the Sharia, and the khilafa (Caliphate rule), without imposing financial or legal restrictions on Copts in Egypt, says Brotherhood-affiliated MP Hamdy Hassan. In a phone interview, Hassan told The Daily Star Egypt that the MB stance has always been clear. They have always said …

GAZA CITY: More than 500 Palestinians have been killed or reported missing in Iraq since the fall of Saddam Hussein’s regime in 2003, a top Palestinian official said Thursday. During the past three years, 536 Palestinians have found martyrdom or have gone missing in Iraq, Zakaria al-Agha, who is in charge of the refugee dossier …

Fear of Shia Iran’s influenc Cairo: Arab nations will support the new US plan for Iraq in exchange for an American push to solve the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, despite fears over Shia dominance in Iraq and concern for its Sunni population. US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice had attended a summit in Kuwait Monday with representatives …

CAIRO: Saudi Arabia s ambassador to the Arab League announced Tuesday that Riyadh will host the organization’s next summit on March 28 and 29 in a bid to heal divisions in the region. Ahmed Al-Qatan made the announcement after a meeting on Monday night with Arab League Chief Amr Moussa, adding that foreign ministers would …

Government acts as Brotherhood attempts to create new political party CAIRO: The latest crackdown on members of the Muslim Brotherhood (MB) aims to deal a blow to the outlawed organization’s financial muscle, according to a recent article that appeared in Al Ahram daily newspaper. Six senior members – the most prominent of them Mohammed Ali …

Cairo: “Saddam Was Not Hanged; Neither Were Uday and Qusai Killed: American Lies and Secrets Relating to the Game of Saddam’s Body Doubles. This is not a news headline or a statement made by a high-ranking official, but the title of a book by an Egyptian journalist that caters to the myths and rumors created …

Cairo: The satellite Israeli intelligence officials said Egypt is launching to “spy on the region is not for that purpose, analysts have told The Daily Star Egypt. Israeli intelligence officials had claimed that Egypt was to launch a spy satellite from Kazakhstan Tuesday to be deployed over the Middle East. However, Military Studies Expert at …

CAIRO: The People s Assembly (PA) agreed Monday Jan. 15 to strip MP Hani Surur, chairman of the Hidelina company implicated in the recent infected blood bags scandal, of his parliamentary immunity upon his request, said MP Mohamed Khalil Kwaitah. The decision came after investigations proved that Surur s company license was forged and did …

CAIRO: A rally was held Friday in front of the Egyptian embassy in Washington DC to call for the release of blogger Abdel Karim Soliman Amer, who has been detained by security forces since November. Organized by a group called the DC Coalition for Blog Freedom, the rally urged the Egyptian government release Alexandria native …

Cairo: Egypt s public prosecutor remanded six senior members of the opposition Muslim Brotherhood in custody for 15 days on Monday on charges of belonging to an illegal organization and possessing Brotherhood literature. The six members, including a member of the group s Guidance Council and three businessmen, were detained on Sunday as part of …